Fort Worth fatal crashes up 31% in five years as city talks ‘Vision Zero'

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The City of Fort Worth is ramping up efforts to reduce traffic crashes and deaths, city officials said Tuesday.

At a city council briefing, transportation planners said they aim to develop a “Vision Zero” road safety action plan, something the city has discussed since 2019 when the council first committed to pursuing “Vision Zero” -  an international strategy designed to drive down traffic fatalities and serious injuries.

Since 2019, Fort Worth has invested in installing traffic calming bumps in neighborhoods with speeding problems, and it has worked to re-design some roadways to make them safer, using Vision Zero strategies. However, the city has not developed a comprehensive plan to systematically address its most deadly corridors.

“I think, part of it was the pandemic and really just the timing. With any transportation planning process, we really want to make sure that we're incorporating public feedback into that process. And, with our Vision Zero action plan, we wanted to make sure that the timing was right for us to engage the public in a meaningful way,” said Chelsea St. Louis, City of Fort Worth Chief Transportation Planner.

The transportation department said over the next several months it will begin mapping the most dangerous locations for drivers and pedestrians and then work toward making those locations safer. The maps will identify what traffic planners refer to as the  “high injury network”.

Over time, city officials said drivers will see more traffic calming devices installed in those high-injury locations. The city may install curb extensions or mini roundabouts and narrow traffic lanes to slow dangerous speeds.

The city said once it maps the high-injury locations it will hold neighborhood meetings to talk with residents about potential solutions.

NBC 5 Investigates analyzed TxDOT crash data and learned the number of fatal crashes in the city of Fort Worth has risen 31% over the last five years. Serious injury crashes are up 22% in that same period.

Since November, NBC 5 Investigates has been reporting in-depth on efforts to reduce crashes across DFW in the series 'Driven to Death'.